The Tie That Binds
by EndlessDiamondSky
Summary: Aladdin and Jasmine rule Agrabah, but every threat imaginable stands in their way, from an alliance between their greatest enemies to the hatred of the royal court. Soon the love they sacrificed so much for will be put to the ultimate test...
1. An End and a Beginning

A/N: Hi, everyone. It's been a very, very long time since I posted anything on this site, and I wouldn't be surprised if most of the people reading it don't even remember me. But if fans of my old stories are reading this, I want you to know that I've always been around, just unable to think of any new material. As for my unfinished story, If I Never Knew You, it's on hiatus for now, possibly never to be updated. As much as I love it, part of me feels like it's run its course, and I just don't know if I'll be able to finish it. I want to try new things, and explore the fact that I've grown as a writer since then.

This story has always been in the back of my mind, but it was only recently that all my ideas about it came together to form a story that I liked, and that I felt readers would enjoy as well. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. Thanks for reading, and please, please review!!! :)

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Chapter 1: An End and a Beginning

Morning broke cold and stark on the city of Agrabah. It was early, and a chill still hung in the air, unscathed by the hot desert sun that was soon to rise. Every citizen stood anxiously at the gates of the palace, staring at the front balcony. Many held candles, and those who could not afford them simply sat in silence. The vigil had gone on all night, and the mounting tension in the air was now a living, breathing entity that surrounded everyone there. Each person wondered what was going on within the palace walls, and what fate had in store for the royal family that resided there.

Jasmine sat on the edge of the large bed she shared with her husband, her toes lightly brushing against the marble floor. She wore a silky nightgown in her signature shade of blue, with a sheer, long sleeved robe over it to keep her warm. To those who knew her as a stunning, regal princess, she appeared, in contrast, to be a shadow of her former self. Her long dark hair fell in waves around her face, tangled and neglected. Her petite frame had become still thinner, as she ate next to nothing these days. One look at her large almond shaped eyes would quickly reveal that she had been crying. The cause of her discontent, and that of her people, was simple -- her father, the Sultan, was dying.

No one ever said it, but everyone knew it was true. In his old age, he had grown ill, and now he was rapidly declining. Confined to his bed, the joy and laughter with which he filled the palace dissipated. Each person handled their pain as best they could, united by the feeling that they no longer really lived, but only existed. Whatever strength Jasmine had been able to muster during this difficult time came mostly from Aladdin, who never left her side. He alone understood the pain of losing a parent -- he had watched his mother die when he was a child. In the absence of his father, the sultan had become like a second father to him, making his own grief nearly match that of his wife.

Aladdin lay in bed, his eyes staring at the ceiling. He had tried countless times to rest, but sleep never came. Of all the thoughts that ran through his mind, one in particular troubled him most. If the Sultan did indeed die, he and Jasmine were next in line to the throne. He was not worried about her -- she had been trained to rule her entire life. But he was not raised in the palace, and he was certainly not born a prince -- he was a streetrat, who survived only on wits and cunning for the first 17 years of his life. And by some miracle, the woman he loved turned out to be a princess. Before he knew it, they were married, making him her prince. At the time, the idea of him someday becoming Sultan seemed so far away. Now, a little over a year after the wedding, it was a very real possibility.

Lethargic, he slowly turned his head to look at Jasmine. From his angle, he could only see her back, as she sat facing away from him. He watched as her body gently heaved up and down to match her breathing. He had been concerned about her for days, weeks -- the concept of time seemed so irrelevant lately. He rolled over and crawled towards her, suprised at the effort it took to do so. he reached out his hand and stroked her long, ebony hair, combing out some of the tangles with his fingers. She jumped slightly at his touch, then relaxed when she realised who it was.

"Come back to bed," he said, his voice low and husky from lack of sleep. "We don't have to be up for a few more hours."

"It won't matter anyway," she replied, standing up. "I know I won't sleep."

She walked over to the balcony and looked down at her people. Hundreds of them stood outside, with sad, yet hopeful faces. Their devotion was a deep comfort to her, and touched her more than she had expected it to.

"I haven't seen anything like this since my mother..." She stopped herself, refusing to utter any word associated with death or dying. In many ways, she never really dealt with her mother's passing -- she simply buried it within herself, and rarely, if ever, spoke of it.

Aladdin stood up and walked over to her, embracing her from behind. "We don't know that your father is going to to die," he said, hoping she would be more optimistic than he was.

"I know that..." she replied hesitantly. "But I'm still afraid...I can feel something coming."

"What do you mean 'something'?" he asked.

"I don't know...I just feel it," was all she could say.

The bright rays of the sun at last appeared over the desert sand, bright and shining. Its light creeped past the bedroom balcony and onto the faces of the half asleep couple, each squinting as they waited for their eyes to adjust. A new day had officially begun. Jasmine gently pulled away from Aladdin and stretched her tired limbs.

"I think I'll go check on Father," she said as she turned to face him.

"He's probably still asleep," he replied, wanting her to stay with him for awhile longer before the reality of everything they were going through sunk in once again.

"I know...I just want to see him," she said. A strange feeling had hit the pit of her stomach, telling her that she was needed. It could not be explained, and so she didn't try. She turned to leave, but before she could, the doors to their room swung open and a servant girl ran in, her face covered with tears. Jasmine could feel the fear and panic swelling within her.

"What is it?" she asked, her voice breaking with the strain of speaking above a whisper. She knew what the girl would say before the words were spoken, but still she had to hear them.

"Your Highness, it's the Sultan...he is dead."

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A/N: Yes, I know it ends a little abruptly, and I know the direction of the story still seems a bit unclear. But I promise, everything will start to make sense later, and that it will get much more interesting. Don't forget to review and let me know what you think, and if enough people like it, I'll try to update in the next few days. :)


	2. The Calm Before the Storm

A/N: Well, I promised a quick update, and here it is. But first, a HUGE thank you to the people that read and reviewed the previous chapter, particulary my good friend dazzling diamond (who reviewed under the name Philia - Calliope). The good things you all said are what encouraged me to continue the story, and your support means more than you could ever know.

This chapter is considerably longer than the last one, because a lot had to be explained that I felt I couldn't spread out into further chapters. Everything here is important, though, so hopefully none of it will bore you. :) Enjoy, and please, PLEASE review!

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Jasmine stood for a moment, frozen in shock. Then, slowly, she sank to the floor, silent tears already falling from her face. Aladdin knelt beside her, his arms enclosing her protectively. The servant girl attempted to compose herself -- she had only delivered half of her message, and she had to get through the rest before she could dismiss herself and leave the princess alone.

"Your Majesty..." she began hesitantly. "No one in the palace knows yet...when they do, they will all wish to see you."

Jasmine looked up, her eyes red and unfocused. "Very well," she said, her voice barely audible. "Go now, and tell the others. I'll be out in a minute." The girl nodded and left, resuming her crying only when she was out of earshot.

When the door shut, Jasmine exhaled deeply, releasing the breath she had been holding for the past five minutes. She wanted to crawl into a corner and stay there for days, weeks, months...perhaps forever. And yet somehow she had to face everyone -- the servants who waited on her, the guards who protected her, and the friends that loved her. Worse she had to somehow convince all of them that she was alright, that she could lead them in their grief with some semblance of grace and dignity, both of which seemed to be in limited supply.

Somewhere in the confusion that clouded her thoughts, she remembered that Aladdin was still next to her, and that he was staring at her as if he'd never been more worried about her in his life. She looked up at him, but did not make eye contact.

"I'm fine," was all she could manage to say as she pulled herself up off the floor. "We should get ready..."

Before she could walk away from him, Aladdin grabbed her hand and spun her around, close enough that she had no choice but to truly look at him. He held her close, afraid that if he let her go, she would crumble into a million pieces.

"Jasmine, I'm sorry," he whispered in her ear. "He was my father, too."

"I know," she replied, resting her head on his chest for a moment before gently pulling away. She headed over to the closet and pulled out a simple black dress, one of many she would have to wear in this time of mourning. It was sheer and light, a neccessity when one chose to wear black in one of the hottest parts of the world. She was thin enough now that it did not hug her curves the same way it did when she first had it made. It was long and off the shoulder, with a gold belt that hung at the waist and gold trim along the hem. The sleeves were long, sleek, and elegant. Once the dress was on, she moved to her vanity, and attempted to brush out her scraggly hair. She pulled it back into a long ponytail to get it out of the way, then placed a gold headband over her bangs.

Like most men, Aladdin was done changing into his long black vest and black pants long before Jasmine had finished getting ready. He sat at the foot of the bed and waited, watching her reflection through the mirror into which she stared. She seemed different -- the pain was still there, but something more important was taking its place. Duty always came first, and even something as powerful as one's emotions often had to take a back seat. Though they grew up in totally opposite worlds, the lesson they learned was the same: take care of everyone else first, and deal with your feelings later. That selflessness could often be their undoing, but it was all they knew.

When Jasmine was finished, she turned around in her chair to face Aladdin. "Are you ready?" she asked, her voice finally returning to her.

"Ready as I'll ever be," he replied as the two stood up and joined hands. They left the room together, nervous as their resolve seemed to weaken with every step.

* * *

Mozenrath lived a rather solitary life at the Citadel. If his court were to be compared to the royal court in Agrabah, they would appear to be polar opposites. He was surrounded by death, with only mamluks, the walking dead, for companions, while Agrabah was surrounded by life and prosperity. He lived in the darkness, while they lived in the light. And he liked it that way. He hated that Aladdin, a mere streetrat and his arch enemy, always acted as if he was a good man who had just taken the wrong path -- someone who needed to be "saved". He was evil and knew it, proud of his own heartlessness, and determined to prove that it could destroy the goodness and love that had become a nauseating trait of Aladdin and his friends.

The Citadel had virtually no visitors, but if Mozenrath needed information, he always had his sources. His familiar, Xerxes, was his only gateway into the outside world. It was from this strange creature that he learned of the Sultan's death. The streetrat made prince was now going to rule Agrabah. From the moment he had married the princess, Mozenrath knew that this moment would come, yet it still felt strange. Always they had been adversaries, but now they would be something more -- equals. And that was something he refused to accept.

He had planned to make a move for years, but every plot he created seemed somehow...predictable. Too much like the fights they had when they were both younger and more hot headed. He didn't want to fight just for fun, or for the thrill of watching Aladdin and his friends get hurt or possibly die -- he wanted, now more than ever, to have Aladdin's power... and perhaps even the woman he'd fought so hard for and eventually managed to marry. With these new developments, that dream now seemed within his reach.

His plans were slowly coming together when, not very long after news of the Sultan's death had reached him, the Citadel had the first visitor it had encountered in many years. As she entered, he knew she was someone important -- the Mamluks would have killed her on sight if she were anything else. It felt as if she was taking ages to move out of the shadows and into the light of his throne room. Her walk was strange -- catlike, almost. And when she emerged, he understood why.

It was Mirage.

* * *

The hallways of the palace were quiet now. Everyone had gathered in the throne room once they heard the news. Aladdin and Jasmine's footsteps clicked against the marble floors and echoed across the walls. As they neared the Sultan's bedroom, the room where he had died, Jasmine instinctively squeezed Aladdin's hand. The door was open, and neither one of them wanted to see the corpse they knew was still lying within. They kept their eyes to the floor until it was completely out of view.

Through the windows, they could hear the people outside screaming and crying -- apparently, someone had informed them of the Sultan's death as well. Some left and returned home, but many stayed where they were, perhaps expecting the prince and princess to come out and make a speech. But they could not face the people now. It was difficult enough to have to face the people they lived with and saw each day.

Upon reaching the throne room, Genie, Abu, and Carpet all gathered around the young couple and embraced them. No one needed to say a word -- their emotions were already laid bare through their actions. When their brief reunion was over, the two stepped forward to face the large group that stood before them. Many were still crying, and all of them had a look of deep pity in their eyes. Already, they were touched by the devotion they were being shown, but it was nothing compared to what happened next.

Suddenly, every person in the room dropped to their knees and bowed.

For the first time, the magnitude of the situation dawned on them. Aladdin was now Sultan, and Jasmine was his queen. They were in charge of the palace staff, the guards, and the entire city. The threat of going to war, being overthrown by rival factions, or having their own people turn against them was very real. But for now, they felt safe, secure. The people closest to them, who they loved most, had fully submitted to their rule without them even having to request it. Even Razoul, who had hated Aladdin for years, reluctantly bowed with the rest of the guards. Now it was up to them to convince everyone else that a princess fresh out of adolescence and a prince who started out as a beggar had the right to control the city.

* * *

"Mozenrath...we meet at last," Mirage said with a graceful, if not slightly sarcastic, curtsy.

"Our reputations precede us," he replied, standing up and decending the steps that led to his throne. "I know who you are, and that you are an enemy of Aladdin. For that reason, you are welcome here."

He moved closer, until they were only a few feet from one another. "To what do I owe this unexpected visit?" he asked.

"I presume that neither of us want the streetrat on the throne of Agrabah," she answered.

"You presume correctly."

"Then why not stop it, and rid ourselves of him and his meddlesome friends? Neither of us accomplised that individually, but together..."

Mozenrath put his hand to his chin, a sure sign that he was thinking. "Yes, together we have twice the chance of destroying them. But what is your price? You would not volunteer to help me if you did not want something in return."

She had wanted to toy with him, drag out the negotiations a little bit more. Now he had forced her to cut to the chase. "I ask only to be queen, to share power with you after we usurp the throne. And I ask for the satisfaction of helping you kill those sentimental fools that have no right to rule."

"Done," he replied. Each thought the same thing -- join forces for now, destroy one another and keep all the power for themselves later. Neither truly wanted to share, but pretending to was convenient at the time. All the gory details could certainly be worked out later, when this, the fight of their lives, was over.

"Come with me," he said, linking his arm with hers as they walked to another more private room in the Citadel to discuss their plans. "If we work quickly, we can attack in just a few days..."


	3. The Coronation: Part I

A/N: Hi, everyone! Sorry I took so long to update. Senior year has been really busy, and I haven't had the time to put the effort into this chapter that I knew it deserved. It's almost 3 a.m. now, and after a random burst of inspiration, I've finally finished. I really went with my instincts on this one, figuring out what was right as I went along. There is a steamy scene towards the end (the first I've ever published), but I tried to keep it light enough to keep the rating where it is.

This chapter skips ahead a bit -- I'd say roughly one month after the events of the last chapter. I didn't want to put too much focus on the Sultan's death, though it was extremely important -- so much has to happen in the story that I could not focus on it for too long. I'm probably my own worst critic, and it's not often that I actually like what I've written, but I do like how this chapter turned out. :) I hope you all like it too, and as always, please review! It's helped my writing improve more than you know.

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It seemed strange to Aladdin that the royal court could go from mourning the death of one sultan to celebrating the coronation of another so quickly. It would be wrong to say that everyone had moved past it -- all of them, especially Jasmine, were still healing. But royalty simply had a different view of death than most people. It was certainly painful, but duty always came first. The heavy burden of power far outweighed one's own personal sufferings. They had to go on, because what they were moving toward was much more important than what was being left behind.

Aladdin was also not used to the pomp and circumstance that came with preparing for public events. In the old days his idea of getting ready was rolling out of bed, raking his fingers through his hair, and heading out the door. Now servants swarmed around him like flies, and each was designated to perform a different task. Hair, clothes, even nails were all being attended to at once. This was not what he had fought for all those years ago when he first fell in love with Jasmine. He never wanted money or power -- he only wanted her. The rest he would have given up in a heartbeat, if he was only given the chance.

Despite his moral scruples over everything that was happening, he could not help but find some of it amusing. He had to laugh at the hair dresser's attempts to tame his jet black hair. It was thick, relatively long, and completely unmanageable. There was a messy-on-purpose feel to it that made it impossible to control. Truthfully, he could have cared less -- Jasmine seemed to like it, and that was enough. Bathing also turned into a disaster -- he simply refused to have any of the servants help. The idea of a bunch of strangers seeing him naked in a tub was hardly appealing. They were only allowed to set it up for him, and even that he didn't like -- the water had been scented with perfume and smelled far too feminine for his tastes. He washed quickly and threw on a blue robe embroidered with gold, hoping the smell wouldn't stick.

By this point, he was more than ready to sneak away and take a break, and being alone had afforded him the perfect opportunity. The palace was massive, and filled with hundreds of passages and a corridors. Having lived there for several years now, Aladdin had figured out most of them. This knowledge, combined with his experience as a thief, made it easy to get out without being detected. The bathroom he was in, one of many in the palace, had a second door, one that would lead away from the servants and to temporary freedom. He left and closed the door quietly behind him. From there, he entered a small hallway that, thankfully, was unoccupied. At the end, he barely caught a glimpse of his wife walking by.

With lightning speed and complete silence, he ran to the end of the hall, concealed in shadow, and grabbed her hand, pulling her away before anyone could notice she was gone. She was startled at first, but relieved when she saw who her kidnapper was. He led her back down the hallway, pulling her along as she ran to keep up.

"What are you doing?" she whispered.

"Just play along," he whispered back as he looked over his shoulder at her with a sly smile. Their minds immediately went back to the day they first met, and the memory of the first tiem the said those words.

He opened the first door he saw, not remembering where it led, and found a storage room that was a little too big to be called a closet. They ran in and shut the door behind them. By then, they were laughing hysterically, reveling in the feeling of it -- neither could remember the last time they just laughed, for no reason at all.

"Do you think they'll find us in here?" Jasmine asked as she gasped for air. Between the running and the laughter, both had lost their breath.

"I doubt it," Aladdin replied as he slid to the floor. She slid down beside him and rested her head on his shoulder. She too had been in the middle of getting ready -- she wore a robe that matched his, but was a lighter shade of blue. Like Aladdin, her hair was still damp from the bath she had taken. As their breathing slowed, Aladdin wrapped his arm around her, and she moved closer, putting her head on his chest. When the silence became deafening, she asked the question that had been burning on her tongue all morning.

"Are you scared?" she asked, still whispering to keep from being heard by anyone outside.

"Terrified," he replied. With her, he didn't have to pretend that he was okay, or that the responsibility that would soon be put on his shoulders didn't scare him.

"Me too. Not so much of ruling, but of how everything's changing...how _we_ could change."

He looked down at her. "Nothing is going to change me..." he said, lifting her chin until their eyes met. "...Or this." He leaned down and kissed her, gently at first, but with a growing intensity. It was intoxicating, dizzying, a high they hadn't experienced in months. Aladdin's fingers weaved themselves into Jasmine's hair, as if he needed something to hold onto to stay stable. He tasted and explored with a persistence that bordered on animal aggression. Jasmine didn't seem to mind -- if anything, the soft whimpering noises she was making only urged him to keep going. She too was exploring old territory, reclaiming what had always been hers. Drowning in each other, the rude voice that interrupted them couldn't have been more unwelcome.

"Hey, you two lovebirds get out here! You're gonna be late for your own coronation!" Iago squawked. His voice was impossible to ignore, and they jumped apart immediately. He sounded close to the door, and they prayed he and the others didn't know they were inside. Panting and flushed, Jasmine smiled and whispered, "That's one thing you have to get used to when you're royalty -- no privacy." She took his hand and stood up, pulling him to his feet along with her.

"Do you think they're gone?" he asked as they straightened their robes.

"I think so...we'd better get dressed. I'll leave first, in case they suspect anything." She cracked the door open ever so slightly, checking to make sure the coast was clear. "I'll see you later," she whispered, giving him a quick kiss on the cheek as she slid out the door. As she left, she couldn't help but peek back in to look at him. They both were grinning from ear to ear. "I missed seeing you smile," she said.

"Same here," he replied. He stared for a few seconds, trying to burn the image into his memory. He snapped out of it, however, when he thought of them being caught. "Go on -- I'll catch up with you later," he whispered. When she left, he leaned his head against the door, sighing as he tried to compose himself. After some time passed and he thought it was safe, he slowly opened the door, and walked out to begin his new life as sultan.


	4. The Coronation: Part II

After the incident in the storage room, Aladdin didn't see Jasmine for another hour, as their servants swarmed them once again to finish getting them ready. At last it all began to feel real as the jewels and trappings of royalty were slowly placed upon them.

When the royal couple finally met again in the throne room, neither could believe the transformation that had taken place in the other. Aladdin looked more handsome than Jasmine had ever remembered. He wore a long sleeved white vest that went down to his ankles, and was bordered in gold. The large shoulder blades added to his natural masculinity, and his chiseled torso was bare. Around his waist was a white belt with gold slanted stripes. It held white harem pants that were neatly tucked into gold boots. He still wore his signature fez, only this time it was white with gold stripes, to match the rest of his clothing. Jasmine too was a vision in white -- her hair was down, and she wore a sheer white veil lined with gold and speckled with gold stars. The top of the veil was attached to a gold head piece that wrapped around her forehead and met to reveal a tear-shaped pearl that rested between her eyebrows. She also wore a white midriff and flowy, slightly see-through skirt, both of which were covered in the same gold stars as the veil. Around her neck was a gold choker necklace, and gold bracelets were around her wrists.

They stood facing each other for what seemed like forever, until at last Jasmine stepped forward. "Well...this is it," she said.

"Yeah...I guess it is," Aladdin replied. "You look beautiful." It sounded shy, almost like something he would've said when he was still courting her.

"You're not so bad yourself," she replied, sounding more relaxed than she felt. The symbolism of the color choice was clear -- this was to be a second wedding. Not to each other, but to Agrabah itself. All three would become one entity, to be separated only in death.

She took his hand as they walked together out of the palace and toward the parade that would start off the festivities. Though they had been up for hours, it was still early in the morning. A cool breeze blew just often enough to keep the heat from rising to sweltering levels. Just outside lay a massive elephant, with a covered area on top for the new Sultan and Sultana to sit on. Aladdin laughed to himself when he thought of how relieved Abu had been about not having to be transformed into one like he had when Aladdin first paraded through the streets as Prince Ali.

Surrounding the elephant were all the trappings one could expect in a royal parade and then some. Thanks to a little of Genie's magic, everything had come together relatively quickly, and without the servants having to do much work. From the moment they stepped out of the palace doors, their noses were assaulted by a vast array of smells. The strongest were the herbs and spices, which were being displayed along with other riches to show the wealth of the city. The most gentle were the thousands of flowers that had been placed on everything -- as an added touch, many of them were jasmine flowers, in honor of the new sultana.

The elephant was so incredibly tall that Carpet had to help the couple reach their seats at the top -- using a ladder or any other non-magical device would have been suicide. Once inside, they tried to make themselves comfortable on the soft pillow seats provided for them, but no luxury could have eased their nervousness. Encased in their silk cage, they were at last hidden from view. The curtains on either side were closed, effectively cutting them off from the outside world. Jasmine exhaled deeply, trying to relieve the tension that had left her body feeling rigid.

The silence between them was not broken until the elephant stood up and began to move, an action which made everything shake and, for a moment, gave the feeling they were going to fall. Aladdin jumped and instantly grabbed Jasmine's hand, before male pride or a false show of bravado had a chance to prevail. When they were steady again, he slid his hand away, embarrassed that he had been afraid when Jasmine had barely flinched. She laughed softly, in that quiet way she did when she knew something he did not, and took his hand again, threading her fingers through his.

"Don't worry...it used to scare me too," she said, smiling at him. He smiled back, still embarrassed, but relieved that she had not teased him.

All was quiet again for a time, until their procession at last reached the view of the people. At that moment, the cheers of the crowd could be heard, a persistent hum in the distance. As they drew closer and gradually merged into the growing parade, the sound became deafening. It was easy to forget how large Agrabah was, and just how many men, women and children inhabited it. But when they all gathered together, their sheer size could be seen much more clearly. It was much bigger than the turnout Aladdin had expected.

Everything felt so unreal -- they were out here to see him...they were cheering, _screaming_, for him. And this time, he was not entering the city as a fake prince trying to impress the girl of his dreams. This time, he was a real, legitimate ruler, preparing to take his throne.

The true frenzy, however, began when Aladdin pulled back his curtain to get a better look at the crowd. The moment they saw him, they exploded, waving their arms and reaching out as if they desperately wanted to touch him. Though he was flattered, he also didn't know what to make of it. When he had lived among them, he was a streetrat, a nobody. Unnoticed and uncared for, he only drew their attention when he was caught stealing food. Now they were all cheering for him, staring at him in awe, as if he were a god.

"What did I ever do to deserve all this?" he asked, more to himself than to Jasmine. He knew the answer, but couldn't bring himself to say it. He was one of them, a man who had come from nothing and risen to be the most powerful person in Agrabah. They looked up to him, saw him as the solution to all of their problems. It meant the world to him, but it also added immense pressure that he wasn't sure he would be able to handle.

* * *

When they returned to the palace, the coronation ceremony finally got under way. For sultans of Agrabah, there was no formal crowning, only the official moment when the royal couple sat on their thrones. The throne room was filled with hundreds of people, from nobles who neither of them knew to old friends like Sadira, King Mamoud, and Prince Uncouthma, whom they hadn't seen since the wedding.

As they walked slowly down the aisle to the throne, Jasmine's throat began to tighten. For most of her life, there had only been one throne sitting before her, the one belonging to her father. But now there was a second throne next to the first -- the one that belonged to her mother, the Sultana. In her fading memories of early childhood, she could just barely recall the years when the two ruled side by side. Then fever and sickness took her mother away when she was three, and the Sultan, haunted by his wife's memory, had her empty throne removed. She had not seen it again until today. A single tear slid down her cheek, but she quickly brushed it away before anyone could notice it. Now was not the time to get emotional or be swept away by cheap sentiment. Her heart already carried more pain and worry than she thought it could take.

The two stood in front of their respective thrones, facing a portion of the people over whom they would soon officially be ruling. Aladdin and Jasmine looked at one another one last time. Neither spoke, but the question in their eyes was clear -- who would sit down first? Who would be the first to accept their shared destiny, to make this strange dream that had clouded over them all this time real? In the end, it was only fitting that they complete this part of their journey in the same way that they had accomplished everything else -- together. They sat at the same time, and from the moment they sank into their seats, the room shook with thunderous applause, louder and more intense than anything they had felt at the parade. It reverberated off the palace walls, amplifying in their ears and hitting them with a strength and intensity they had never expected.

The moment they had anxiously awaited and feared had at last passed, but the day was not over. A banquet complete with food, wine, music, and dancing had all been planned in their honor. Neither had been to a coronation celebration before, but if what they had heard about them was true, they wouldn't be getting any sleep until the next morning.

As prince and princess, Aladdin and Jasmine had become accustomed to dining with the nobility. Aladdin was never comfortable with it, but he had learned to accept it as a necessary evil. As sultan, court protocol would now eliminate some of the awkwardness. The royal couple were to remain in their thrones for the entire banquet, while the guests were to sit at the many long tables that lined the sides of the room. The center was left empty for dancing and entertainment. Towering over all he surveyed, Aladdin felt a dominance now that the nobles had never allowed him to feel when he dined with them. There had always been subtle yet cruel snubbing -- whispered comments about his low birth, deliberate exclusion from conversations. In his ascending to the throne, it felt for a moment as if he had literally risen above the criticism that had filled his life since his marriage to Jasmine. But he knew it was still there, and most likely harsher now that they knew he could not hear them.

Even worse was the strangeness of sitting in a throne he had never imagined would belong to him. In his mind, it was still the Sultan's chair, a sacred space that he was invading. He had spent years bowing before it, and serving the man it belonged to, but somehow he had shoved the idea that it would be his far into the back of his mind, where it remained unnoticed and unthought of until now. It was these thoughts, along with the insecurity that shadowed his every move, that hung over him as dinner was served, and kept him somewhat melancholy during the festivities.

The meals had been large and elaborate, and while both Aladdin and Jasmine ate more than their normal share, neither, if questioned, could have named half of what had been placed in front of them. They were barely conscious of the fact that they _were_eating -- it seemed so unimportant compared to everything on their minds. Soon after dinner, the sun began to set, casting a red-orange light onto the room, a strange offset to the light blue decor. The weight of exhaustion was setting in. They wanted to be alone now, to think, to talk, and most of all to sleep. Jasmine found herself politely stifling yawns every five minutes, while Aladdin was two minutes away from dozing off completely. Only Jasmine's occasional pokes and nudges were able to keep him awake.

"It won't be much longer now," she said after yet another strong elbow to the ribs awakened her husband. It was a lie, and he knew it, but she had said it with the hopes of offering encouragement.

"I can tell I won't enjoy nights like this," he said, pushing himself up in his seat to avoid falling asleep again.

"They're not so terrible once you get used to it."

"I'd be more interested if you let me juggle a few fruits for our guests..."

"Don't even think about it," she replied before he could finish. A playful smirk reached his lips, the first she had seen all day.

"Oh come on, maybe it'll get them to warm up to -- "

He stopped mid-sentence when he caught sight of the two massive front doors. Underneath them, black sand was slowly creeping onto the palace floor and toward the unsuspecting guests. The fire breather entertaining them at the center was the first to notice. Horrified, he dropped the flaming torch he was carrying, and backed away as the fire extinguished on the floor. Soon, the other guests noticed and began to panic; some even rose from their seats in an effort to escape it. As the guards cautiously unsheathed their swords, the sand shifted into two shapes. Each materialized into people at the same time, and soon Mozenrath and Mirage were standing before the royal couple.

Shock, then anger, then confusion seemed to run through them in the course of a few short seconds. Aladdin stood up, glaring at them with all the malice he could muster. "What...the hell...is this?" he said. The words came out slowly, fighting their way through the anger that coursed through him.

Mozenrath smiled and sucked his teeth a few times in mock disappointment. "Aladdin, is this any way to treat a guest?" he asked, boldly striding forward with Mirage in toe.

Genie floated to Aladdin's side, all the while glaring at the uninvited couple. "So, Evil Incarnate has a partner in crime?" he said, transforming into a tuxedo and changing his face so that he resembled the Godfather. "He made you an offer you can't refuse?" he asked in a raspy Marlon Brando-style voice.

"You could say that," Mirage replied, stepping forward so that she stood next to Mozenrath.

"We came to propose a challenge, and your genie will probably give you an unfair advantage..." He lifted the skeletal hand that held his gauntlet, and a pair of handcuffs floated from the pocket of his tunic. At his direction, they flew across the room and attached themselves to Genie's wrists. The force of it was strong enough to push him to the back wall. He tried to break free, and discovered his magic no longer worked.

"Magic proof, of course," Mozenrath shrugged, as if it was something they should've already known.

"Now for the rest of the guests..." Mirage said. From her hands came a burst of orange light that formed into two of her fire cats. Aladdin had fought them before, and knew that they were the product of nightmares -- they fed on fear, and without it would easily disappear. The guests, however, couldn't have known that, and were easily chased out of the palace by the strange creatures.

By this time, Jasmine had left her throne and was standing at Aladdin's side. Her eyes shifted from Mozenrath to Mirage, then back again, angry that this had to happen _now_, and still angrier that they had to deal with not just one enemy, but two. Couldn't they take a break from saving the world for one day?

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A/N: I hadn't originally planned to end the chapter here, but it's already much longer than my chapters usually are, and I've put in a LOT of info that will be important later, so I figured there was no need to overdo it. I hope you liked it, and as always, PLEASE REVIEW!!! I'd really appreciate it.


	5. The Challenge

A/N: Sorry I took so long to update, everyone. My senior year of high school is slowly wrapping up, and my schedule is insane right now. I write whenever I find the time or get a good idea, and then edit the heck out of it on weekends when I finish my homework. Once summer vacation starts, I should be able to update more quickly. Thank you to everyone who reviewed and encouraged me to keep going.

This chapter is a lot more dialogue-based, though I know dialogue is not my strong point. :( The story called for it, and so I did it. Hopefully you enjoy it just as much as you enjoyed the previous chapters.

Also, one quick side note. Just to clarify, this story is nota sequel/prequel to any of my previous stories. Certain plot points later on will make it look like there's a connection, but I promise there isn't. :) I'm already planning a sequel to this story, so we have a looonnngg way to go before it's totally finished. Hope you like the new chapter, and as always, please remember to review!

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The two opposing sides stood across from one another; Genie, still in handcuffs, stood protectively behind Aladdin and Jasmine along with Abu, Carpet, and Iago, who was perched on Aladdin's shoulder. If someone had walked in at that moment and attempted to analyze the situation, they would think the new Sultan and his friends were sure to win this fight - they obviously outnumbered the enemy. But anyone who knew Mozenrath and Mirage knew that their combined power was more than enough to crush anyone who stood against them. Aladdin was about to speak in some attempt to stand his ground when suddenly Mozenrath's familiar, Xerxes, burst through the slightly ajar front doors and into the throne room. He swirled around Mozenrath's head before resting close to his ear.

"Is it ready?" Mozenrath whispered just loud enough for everyone to hear.

"Yessss, massteerrr," Xerxes hissed in reply.

"Excellent," he said. The word was drawn out, slow, frightening. "Let the games begin." With an elegant flourish, Mozenrath waved the hand that held his gauntlet and a portal was revealed. It showed an aerial view of a massive circular maze that appeared to be in the middle of the desert. It stretched for miles, and went in every direction possible. It would take days, weeks, perhaps even months to solve it and reach the center.

"Observe the challenge that seals your doom, Aladdin," Mirage said as she floated to the edge of the portal. "The labyrinth was created by me...but the monsters within come from Mozenrath."

"M-monsters?" Abu squeaked, jumping up and hiding behind Jasmine's veil.

"Your task is simple," Mozenrath said, his voice still dripping with sarcasm. "Solve the maze, defeat every monster within it, and find your way back out. If you win, you can reclaim your throne. If you lose..."

"_We_will rule Agrabah," Mirage said, finishing his sentence.

"And if I refuse?" Aladdin asked.

"We simply kill you all," Mozenrath said flippantly, as if the answer was obvious.

"Oh really? That hasn't worked out so great the past few years."

"Yeah...how many times have you lost again?" Iago said, flying around their heads as they attempted to swat him away like a fly.

"You know you can't fight both of us," Mirage sneered. "Especially without your precious Genie." They glared at one another, and Genie wanted desperately to break from his shackles and kill them both. He knew he was Aladdin's greatest defense against any enemy they faced, and not being able to help his friends was killing him.

"Wanna bet?" Aladdin said, reaching for the sword at his side. It was there for ceremonial purposes only, but could certainly be used to slice through Mozenrath and Mirage if he could get a clear shot. Before he could pull it out, he felt Jasmine's hand grab his and stop him.

"Wait...maybe we should discuss this first," she said, content for now to let cooler heads prevail.

"She's got a point kid," said Iago as he flew back to Aladdin's shoulder. "Swords won't be enough to get rid of these two." Grudgingly, Aladdin released his grip on his sword, and Jasmine let go of him.

"Interesting..." said Mozenrath. "I was hoping you'd fight and satisfy that annoying hero complex of yours...it would make killing you _so _much easier." Aladdin's fingers balled into a fist as he tried to move forward, but again Jasmine held him back. "Of course if you go, your new queen will be left without a husband." Mozenrath strode forward and slid a cold white finger down Jasmine's cheek. "When the cat's away..." Jasmine jerked her head back and shivered in disgust. She couldn't even look him in the eye now, afraid of what his stare would tell her. Mirage was glaring, too - she had not missed the hidden meaning behind the cat joke. It already looked like Mozenrath was planning on going back on their deal.

"You're really pushing it, Mozenrath..." Aladdin said through gritted teeth.

"Relax, hero," Mozenrath continued. "We'll gladly give you some time to decide how you'd like to die."

"What?" Mirage yelled, her eyes briefly flashing green. "Why can't we kill them NOW?" She growled out the last word, the animal within her slowly revealing itself in her anger. She was already levitating, but found herself rising even further from the floor as her frustration increased.

"Relax kitten," Mozenrath drawled condescendingly. Raising his gauntlet, he lowered her back down to the ground. "The streetrat will die either way. Whether that happens today or tomorrow is of no consequence." She folded her arms, eyes wide and rebellious like a child, but made no further reply.

"Make your decision by dawn, or we will make it for you..." he said, his gauntlet hand glowing bright blue in warning. He raised his cape, concealing himself, Mirage and Xerxes from view. They disappeared in the same way in which they had entered - as nothing but black sand. The last sound Aladdin and Jasmine heard was Xerxes' sinister, hissing laugh echoing through the room.

For a moment, there was a deafening silence that no one was sure how to break. Then Aladdin turned to Genie, still standing angry and dejected by his side.

"Genie, are you okay?" Aladdin asked, putting his arm around his shoulders. His voice was soft and comforting, his anger briefly forgotten as he looked for a way to help his best friend.

"Aw, don't worry Al! I'll be out of these in no time," he said as he again tried to break free from his shackles. But once again, his efforts were in vain.

Emotionally drained, Jasmine sat down on the steps leading up to her throne - a throne she had only just gained, and might soon lose. Aladdin sat beside her, his arms slipping around her waist.

"What are we going to do?" she asked, though she knew he would not have an answer.

"Why don't we talk about this alone?" Aladdin suggested. He stood up and took her hand, gently pulling her along behind him. They did not bother telling everyone when they'd be back - they both knew this conversation could very well last all night...

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When they entered their bed chambers, Aladdin slammed the door behind him, releasing some of the silent fury that was threatening to erupt within him. "I should've killed them when I had the chance..." he muttered under his breath as he stormed in.

"You know we couldn't have killed them, especially without Genie," Jasmine replied. She walked over to her vanity and sat down. Slowly, she began removing everything she wore to the coronation - first the veil, then the jewelry, then the shoes. The party was over, the fantasy slowly fading.

"Even if we had him, our chances would still be bad," he replied, pacing across the room as he sorted his thoughts. "Genie's powers aren't what they used to be..."

It was hard to say, but Aladdin knew it was the truth. Since he set him free, Genie's powers had slowly been lessening. He would barely have had the ability to defeat Mozenrath or Mirage individually, but together, they were unstoppable. Aladdin stopped moving and closed his eyes, the weight of what he knew he had to do slowly pressing upon him.

"...I have to accept their challenge." It was a decision, not a suggestion. Jasmine felt her heart sink to her feet. The thought of him leaving was pushing her over the edge.

"No!" She stood and rushed over to him. Aladdin's back was to her, and she grabbed his shoulders from behind, resting her head between them. "There must be another way...we've defeated them so many times -"

"Yes, but never together," he interrupted. "And usually not without Genie."

"We could figure something out, I know it..." she said, her voice rising in desperation. She moved around him so that they were now face to face. "If you leave, they'll kill you..."

He slowly lifted his hands, cradling her face in his palms. "And if I stay, they'll kill us all."

"You don't know that," she replied, embarrassed that her voice was beginning to break. She didn't want to be this vulnerable, not now. She wanted to be strong, strong enough to make him stay.

"Would you really want me to risk it?" he asked. His voice was soft now, tender. The pain was sinking in, but stubborn as ever, his resolve was not shaken.

"Let them kill me, I don't care!" Jasmine cried, grabbing his wrists and pulling his hands off of her. She turned around, unable to look at him any longer. Her breath came out in ragged gasps, but the tears refused to fall. "I won't watch you die."

She had hoped the discussion would end here, but Aladdin didn't give up that easily. She felt his arms slide over her shoulders and across her chest. He pulled her close to him, but did not force her to turn around and face him again.

"Jasmine, _I _care," he said, feeling his own voice break. "I won't risk your life or anyone else's. And I _will_ come back."

"You can't promise me that."

"Yes I can," he said, nuzzling the crook of her neck. "Do you trust me?"

She had to laugh a little despite her sadness. Though their lives were so different from what they had been when he first said those words, the feeling was still the same. Then, as now, she would have to trust blindly, and believe that what he was doing was right, even if she couldn't see why at the time. She turned to face him again, and his hands moved down to her waist.

"Yes," she replied. It came out easily, without the hesitation that had been there the first time.

"I can't leave with you being angry with me..."

"I'm not angry," she said quickly, as if that was the last thing she was feeling. "...I'm scared for you."

He rested his forehead against hers, and the two both closed their eyes at the same time. Seeing was no longer necessary - what they longed for was to feel. To remember every curve and crevice in one another's bodies, what it felt like to be in each other's arms, in case fate never granted them that chance again.

"I love you...I've always loved you," Aladdin said, his voice just slightly higher than a whisper. He might as well have said, _"I want you to know that in case I die." _The words hung in the air as if he had actually spoken them. Jasmine would have said she loved him too, but the words were drowned in a kiss. At first she fought the sensations that rushed through her. She didn't want to feel pleasure now, when her life was falling apart so rapidly. But as always, she found she couldn't resist him. Her arms found their way around his neck, and she did not protest when he lifted her bridal style from the floor and carried her to their bed.

Upon later reflection, she could not explain, even to herself, why she had screamed his name when it was over, or why hot, angry tears at last began to fall as they found release together. All she understood was the emptiness she felt when she awoke the next day and stretched her arm to his side of the bed, only to feel nothingness. She had known somehow that he wouldn't be there, that he would leave at the first possible moment in an attempt to make it easier for her. Because they realized the previous evening that their coupling was not merely a tangling of two bodies, or the promise of Aladdin's safe return. Somewhere in their frenzied passion it had turned into something deeper, something neither of them had ever wanted it to be - it had turned into a goodbye.


	6. Hello and Goodbye

A/N: I know, the updates are still coming pretty slowly. The last few months have probably been the busiest of my life, since they included prom, finals, and graduation. But it's worth it, because now I am officially a high school graduate. :) Anyway, I'm on summer vacation, so I should be able to update more now. Enjoy the new chpater, and PLEASE review! I'm glad so many of you are reading it, (at least that's what the stats page told me, anyway) but comments are also greatly needed and appreciated.

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Aladdin spent his last night of freedom restlessly lying with Jasmine, holding her as she cried herself to sleep. For the first time since their wedding, he was beginning to feel guilty about being intimate with her. He hadn't really thought about it, or even considered the idea that he might be doing anything wrong. He had just wanted one last night with her, one last chance to feel the passion that had always been between them. Although he would never admit it to her, he knew there was a good chance he would never see her again. But their lovemaking had not had the desired effect. It did nothing to soothe, to calm, to restore. Instead it became a final, very intimate farewell, and only served as a reminder of the love that each would lose in their time apart.

He stayed by her side for hours, his arms wrapped around her from behind in their shared bed. She wept silently, under the silly notion that maybe she could hide it from him and keep him from feeling worse. But her occasional sniffling and the way her body shuddered and heaved violently under him were more than enough to prove she was crying. He waited patiently until it was over and her breathing slowed to the deep, rhythmic pattern it adopted when she fell asleep, a pattern that only he knew. She fought the exhaustion that overtook her - she had wanted to stay awake with him, knowing they had precious few hours left together, but the stress of the day and her experiences were too much, and eventually she drifted away, hoping that she would wake up to find it had all been a dream, and that Aladdin wouldn't be leaving after all.

But this was no dream, and the reality of dawn was fast approaching. Aladdin stayed with her as long as he dared, dreading the moment when he would no longer feel her body next to his. When the sun began to peek over the sand dunes, it's light slowly making its way into their room, he knew it was time to go - Mirage and Mozenrath would arrive as soon as possible to gloat over their success. He forced himself to sit up, careful all the while not to wake Jasmine. The final goodbye he would have had to say to her and to their friends would have been too much for either of them to bear, and he was determined to leave before anyone else woke up in order to avoid it. Before getting out of bed, he leaned over her sleeping form and placed a feather light kiss on her cheek. He rested his head against hers one last time, then stealthily hurried out of bed.

He dressed quickly, putting on a black and grey outfit with long sleeves. It was light, good for fighting, if that's what he would be required to do. Next, he carefully picked up his sword, left abandoned in a corner of the room after the previous evening's activities. Securing it within is belt, he headed for the bedroom door. With one last look at his wife, he walked out, shutting it behind him as quietly as possible.

The palace was deathly quiet at this early hour. Everyone was still asleep, but most of them would rise at daybreak to hear Aladdin's decision. He had to hurry if he planned to be gone by then. When he entered the throne room, there were still leftovers from the previous evening. He took a few basics, enough for a week's ration of food - water, which was placed in a small pouch easily concealed under his clothes, various fruits, and a slice of bread, all of which his years as a thief had taught him how to hide. Most importantly, he brought the key to his survival - a ball of twine he dug up in a supply closet. This he hid in his shirt, beneath his tunic. It was the only way he had any hope of making it back out of the labyrinth - assuming he made it through at all.

But as he headed for the door, mentally preparing himself for what was to come, a voice interrupted him.

"Al...is that you?"

He froze and turned around, having recognized it instantly. "Genie...I thought you'd be asleep."

"Genies don't sleep, pal," he replied sadly. "And even if I could, I can't get back in my lamp," he said, holding up his wrists. The magic-proof handcuffs were still there. Apparently, he still had no way of getting out of them, and without his magic, there was no way he could shrink himself down to the proper size to fit in his lamp.

Aladdin sighed in frustration. He hadn't wanted it to be this way, hadn't wanted to make everything more complicated than it was already. And now another reminder of all he stood to lose was standing right in front of him.

"Genie, I'm sorry," he said hurriedly, turning and walking to the door, afraid to look him in the eye. "I thought this would be easier for everybody."

"I know."

"You probably hate me now, but I think I'm doing the right thing," he continued rambling. He had frozen at the door, trying to find the willpower to open it.

"I know," Genie said again.

"I won't watch all of you die because I was too afraid to defend you. So don't try to talk me out of it!" he said, so caught up in his fear of what his friend would think that he had not even heard him speak.

"I wasn't going to," Genie said, surprisingly calm.

"I - what?" Aladdin said, having actually heard Genie's words this time. He turned again to face him.

Genie chuckled slightly. "Even if I tried it wouldn't work. I just wanted to give you this."

With great effort, Genie managed to reach into his red belt and pull out his old lamp. Thanks to Aladdin's help years ago, it had ceased to be a prison, and instead was just a home. He walked over to him and gently pushed it into his hand before he had a chance to reject it.

"Genie I can't take this...it belongs to you," Aladdin said in a shocked whisper.

"I can't use it, anyway. Maybe it'll be of use to you someday. Besides, if I lend it to you, you have to stay alive so you can return it," he said, nudging him playfully with his elbow, a sad smile on his face. For all his silly antics, Aladdin had to admit that like humans, Genie had a sensitive side, and was more than capable of feeling love and pain. He smiled back, and threw his arms around him to give him one last hug.

"Thanks, Genie."

"See you around, buddy," he replied, a single tear falling down his cheek as he realized he wouldn't even be able to hug him back.

"We're gonna get you back to your old self again," Aladdin said as he pulled away. "I promise." With that, he quickly turned and walked out the door. He looked behind him, and was grateful that Genie hadn't followed him. Perhaps he knew that he wanted to face Mozenrath and Mirage alone.

It didn't take long for them to appear - it was almost as if they sensed that he was waiting for them. He jumped slightly as they appeared on the palace steps; he had not seen them approaching the building, and now they were just there, seemingly out of nowhere.

This time, he would have the upper hand and speak first. "I accept your challenge," he said, with more authority than he knew he currently possessed.

"Then let's go," Mozenrath replied, the sadistic, almost playful sarcastic lilt still in his voice. Instantly, he used his gauntlet to pull a large, moving black hand from his robes, which grabbled Aladdin, formed itself into a tight ball, and flew back into Mozenrath's open hand. Aladdin as all too familiar with this magic - Mozenrath had used it years ago to kidnap him and take him to Dagger Rock, in an attempt to hold him hostage in exchange for Genie.

When they reached the maze, which took seconds thanks to the combined magic of Mozenrath and Mirage, he was released and thrown into the sand, coughing and sputtering all the way. He glared at his two captors and stood up, straightening his clothes, and making sure that everything he brought was still properly concealed. He doubted they would have let him bring most of it if they knew he had it. Then he stared at each of them, his characteristic heroic determination still in his eyes, despite the apparent hopelessness of his situation. The labyrinth was huge, much bigger than it had looked in the image of it Mozenrath had showed him. Worse, it was in the middle of the desert - even if he made it out, he had no idea how to get back to Agrabah.

"This isn't over," he said, staring intently at the two levitating figures above him. "I _will_ be back, and when I am, we're finishing this...permanently."

"But will you still say that later, young hero, when the strain of your challenge finally starts to break you?" Mirage sneered, sounding all to happy at the prospect of him losing it.

"We'll just have to wait and see," Mozenrath answered before Aladdin could reply. "Goodbye, Aladdin. It's been nice knowing you. Then again...no it hasn't." With that, he shot a burst of bright blue magic at Aladdin, pushing him past the large entryway and into the maze, where he hit one of its stone walls and fell to the ground. Pain reverberated through his whole body, but he was determined not to let it show.

"You know, that line is getting pretty old, Mozenrath," he replied, remembering that he had said the same thing to him years ago, when he was sure that he would be able to kill him at Dagger Rock. As usual, he hadn't succeeded.

"Perhaps...but it seemed appropriate," Mozenrath said, smirking slyly.

"Farewell, hero," Mirage purred, waving her thin, clawed fingers as the two disintegrated into black sand.

Aladdin took a deep breath and stood up, trying to gain his bearings. The walls of the labyrinth were high, and, as he had discovered when Mozenrath attacked him, hard and sturdy. Climbing over them was not an option. But finding his way through it, and defeating monsters along the way, was starting to seem impossible. He was completely alone now, with no friends, no magic, and very little food or water. As he stared up at a cloudless desert sky, his confidence began to fade, and he wondered if he had finally bitten off more than he could chew, a view that was aggravated by the slow, persistant growl that cut through the air, reaching his ears from a distance...

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A/N: Well, there you have it. Much more is coming, and I hope you all stick around to see it. Reviews make me smile. :) Don't forget to leave one.


	7. Gone

A/N: Sorry (again) that it took so long to update. I think I'll stop promising quick updates for now, since I don't know if it's a promise I can keep. However, rest assured I do plan to finish the story - it won't be going on hiatus like my other fic. I like where this one is going, and I really want to continue it; it's just a matter of finding time to write it. :) As always I hope you like it. Happy reading!

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**Chapter 7: Gone**

Jasmine slept late that morning, in the vain hope that if she never woke up, yesterday would no longer exist. She tried to pretend Aladdin was still with her, but she could no longer feel the weight of his body beside her. When she finally woke up, opening her eyes was a struggle - seeing the mess her life had become would make it all too real.

She sat up in bed and forced her eyes to open. She saw the same bed and the same room that she had always known, but without Aladdin there, the space felt unbearably empty and cold. Frustrated, she slid out of bed, trying to escape the scent of him, still lingering on her body and on the sheets. She shrugged on her blue bathrobe, having no desire to change into any of the gorgeous new gowns she had recently bought - gowns that were fit for a queen.

The throne room had become an unofficial meeting place, the center of the shattered world the group now lived in. When Jasmine got there, what she saw immediately put a smile on her face.

"Genie, you're free!" she exclaimed, running over to him. The handcuffs that had been on his wrists were gone. "What happened?"

"I found a key in Jafar's lab," Iago squawked as he flew across the room to rest on Jasmine's shoulder.

"Yeah, after I helped you look," Genie replied, shoving a magnifying glass into Iago's beak to illustrate his point.

"It would've been nice if you found that _before_ Aladdin left," Jasmine said, smiling wryly at Iago.

"Hey, just be grateful I found it and call it a day," he muttered, flying away from her.

"It's fine - now Genie can help me find Aladdin," she said, a note of hopefulness in her voice for the first time as she looked up at him. "I'll go change."

She turned on her heels and briskly began walking back to her room, but she didn't get far before Genie appeared in front of her in a referee outfit with black and white stripes and a whistle in his mouth. He blew it loudly, loud enough to make her jump, and held his hand out to stop her.

"Hold on! Al didn't say anything about getting rescued."

"What do you mean? You spoke to him before you left? What did he say?" Her eyes were wild now, her heart racing at the thought that he had spoken to someone before he left. She hadn't totally forgiven him for not saying goodbye to her. Genie hesitated in replying. He had a feeling it would do more harm than good to tell her that they had spoken.

"No...I didn't see him," he eventually said, changing back to his normal self. Jasmine's eyes were still questioning, as if she knew that he was lying, but she did not interrogate him further.

"We can't just leave him there, he'll die if we do."

"That's a risk he was willing to take."

Jasmine could only respond with a withering glare. How could she be the only one who wanted to find him? He had been rash and silly to leave, thinking with his heart and not his head, as usual. It was her job - their job - to correct his mistake. Perhaps if she told herself that enough, it might actually be true.

"How can you say that?" she exclaimed, pacing in the opposite direction. "Some friend you are." Again, Genie was one step ahead of her, and in a flash he was standing in front of her.

"C'mon, Jas!" he said, transforming into a boxer's uniform. "Fight fair." He punched her playfully in the arm. "I don't want him hurt, either."

"Then come with me." She motioned for Carpet to come to her, and jumped on him. "Or I'm leaving without you." The fact that she was only half dressed and looked a mess hardly mattered now that she had a point to prove. Genie sighed defeatedly; as usual, there was no arguing with her. He decided it was better to tag along and make sure she didn't get killed than it was to stand there protesting in vain.

* * *

Jasmine had only had a brief glimpse of the labyrinth in which Aladdin was allegedly imprisoned, and there had been nothing around it that would give any indication of where it might be. The Seven Deserts were vast, and even on Carpet, it would take weeks to travel through them completely. Now that Jasmine was Sultana, and sole ruler of Agrabah, that was time she did not have.

Meanwhile, Genie had come up with an idea to speed up their search. From the looks of it, the maze had been made at least partly out of metal. When they began their journey, he turned into a metal detector, hovering silently next to Jasmine. After an hour had passed, they were both starting to lose hope.

"Any luck, Genie?" she asked, as she had every fifteen minutes since they left.

"Not yet," came the unwanted answer. He was just about to suggest - as delicately as possible, knowing her temper - that they turn back, when he began beeping rapidly. Immediately Jasmine stopped Carpet and jumped off. They were right at the center of the desert, but nothing seemed to be there.

"What does it mean?" she asked as Genie transformed back to his normal self again. It was only after she had stood there for a few moments that she understood. There was indeed something there. If she squinted, she could just barely detect a wavy tremor here and there in the vast space before her. Most would mistake them for heat waves, so common in the desert at this time of day, but instinct told her that it was something more.

Jasmine stepped forward to investigate when something stopped her. Despite the open space that lay before them, she was unable to move more than few feet from where she had originally stood. She moved to the left, her fingers drifting across the invisible wall. There seemed to be no end to it.

"Genie, what is it?" she asked.

"I don't know," he replied. He moved toward it, and turned into a doctor with a white lab coat and stethoscope, which he held up to the invisible wall. "Hmmm..." he said, moving it back and forth. "This shouldn't be too hard..." he said backing away, pulling back sleeves he didn't have. A blast of pink magic zoomed from his fingers, but when it hit the strange invisible space, it bounced off, making Genie and Jasmine have to duck to avoid being hit. As they stood back up, confused, a sinister laugh began to echo around them. Jasmine shuddered at the sound - there was no mistaking who it belonged to.

Mozenrath appeared through a small portal in the air, with Xerxes, his familiar, at his side. "How cute," he said, still laughing. "Aladdin's friends have come to the rescue."

"What did you do with him?" she asked, glaring at him as he floated above her.

"Don't act so naive, Princess," he said as he descended, all the while never breaking eye contact. "Your husband and I had a deal."

"I am not a Princess anymore."

"Without him, you are no longer queen."

"We'll see about that," she replied icily. But he was not the only one who would feel that way. Though by law she was still queen, many in Agrabah didn't like the idea of a woman ruling alone, and a streetrat sultan was better than no sultan at all. "Now let him go," she ordered.

"Can't be done," he said so nonchalantly it was infuriating. "He went freely. Look to him for blame, it you must."

"He wouldn't have gone if you and Mirage hadn't threatened us...where is she, anyway?" Seeing him with a partner was still strange, so Mirage's absence was not noticed at first.

"At Morbia, where I sent her. She'll be...keeping an eye on things for awhile." Jasmine had no idea what that was supposed to mean, and asking would accomplish nothing. It was becoming alarmingly clear how in control of this whole situation Mozenrath really was. He was eyeing her up and down, and she suddenly felt horribly exposed and uncomfortable in her nightgown and robe. Using his gauntlet, Mozenrath pulled her to him until they were close enough to kiss. He leaned forward as if he were going to do just that, and bile shot up to to the back of her throat. But he moved past her lips until he his mouth was at her ear.

"You're a fool, Jasmine," he whispered. "Your love and your magic are not enough to save him." He glared at Genie over her shoulder. "Enjoy your freedom while it lasts," he said to him as he backed away from Jasmine. By now, Genie was furious again, his hands balled into fists at his side. He had no chance to react, however, because Mozenrath and Xerxes quickly disintegrated into black sand and disappeared.

Jasmine stood in shock, her breathing heavy. Tears were stinging in her eyes as she stared at the seemingly empty space before her. It was clear what they had done now. Mozenrath and Mirage, through their combined talents, had created an impenetrable force field outside their labyrinth. Aladdin was so close, and yet he couldn't see her, and she couldn't see him. She rested one hand against it as a silent tear quickly slid over her cheeks. She had never been so heartbroken - or so angry.

Almost without being conscious of it, she went from just touching the force field to banging her fist against it, as if she hoped that the force of her anger and her pain would be enough to knock it down. She landed one blow after another; one for Mozenrath, and the sick way she felt when he looked at her; one for Mirage, for partnering up with a sadist to take away everything she held dear; one for Aladdin, for being stupid enough to leave; one for her, for letting him. And half a dozen other blows for no real reason at all. She kept hitting, and the tears kept falling, until she began to scream.

"Aladdin!" she called to him. "ALADDIN!" Her voice was cracking from yelling so loud, and still he did not hear her. Still he was gone. She didn't stop until Genie, who had been staring at her with pity in his eyes, grabbed her wrists from behind and pulled her away. She fought him, struggling and kicking her feet in the sand, but there was no shaking him off. By now her body shook and heaved as she sobbed. She stopped moving and knelt in the sand and it blew gently around her. When she stopped moving, Genie finally let her go. She turned and buried her face in his chest, and felt his arms slowly, protectively, encircle her.

"He's gone, Genie..." she whispered between sobs. "He's really gone..."

* * *

A/N: Well, there you have it. I'll try to update soon (no promises though), so please, please review and let me know what you thought! I probably would never have kept writing if it wasn't for all of you.


	8. Sweet Dreams

A/N: See what happens when I don't promise you a quick update? I wanted to wait to post this chapter, but once I finish writing something, I can't just leave it sitting on my word processor for no one to see but me. Thanks a bunch to Amelie de Lorraine for reviewing the last chapter, and all the others before that. You've been the only reader to review every single chapter of the story (hopefully more of you will join her), and I look forward to your comments every time I update. :) Happy reading.

* * *

**Chapter 8: Sweet Dreams**

As Mirage sat on her dilapidated throne in Morbia after being banished there by Mozenrath, she realized how quickly her own power was slipping. She did not agree to join forces with the young sorcerer only to have him control her every move. She had decided centuries ago that no man would ever rule over her, and Mozenrath was no exception.

Why had they not destroyed that meddlesome new sultana and her friends and taken the throne? She should be in Agrabah now, redecorating the palace in the Egyptian style of her homeland, watching the citizens cower in terror before her. And that silly, half-crazy sorcerer should be locked away somewhere. His work was done as far as she was concerned - Aladdin was as good as dead. It would be a long, painful, _delicious _process, but there was no way he would ever escape the labyrinth. She was more than ready to push Mozenrath aside and take the throne by force, if only the opportunity presented itself.

When it came right down to it, the problem was always the same: power, or lack thereof. She never seemed to have enough of it, and though it hurt her pride to admit it, the fact was that she was not powerful enough to defeat Mozenrath on her own. She was a master manipulator, who could easily force others to do what she wished, but she would never match Mozenrath in terms of raw power. The tide would have to turn in her favor again eventually, and until then, she would have to bide her time.

The intended target for her pent up anger was someone that would please them both - Aladdin. Mirage may have been no match for Mozenrath, but a mere mortal like him would be all too easy to control. Plus, it would offer a little entertainment in what was otherwise a rather dismal place. She loved nothing more than exploiting human frailty, all the pointless distractions that made one weak: love, friendship, and the self sacrifice it inspired in others. All of it would only bring hurt in the end. Thank Isis she had been reincarnated as the cat goddess, free of the human flaws that had once made her vulnerable. At last Aladdin would see that his heroic attempt to conquer evil had all been in vain. She would break him slowly, and then watch him die, his dreams of a better life crumbling around him.

* * *

Five minutes into his mission, and Aladdin was already trembling with fear. What was that growling he had heard? He couldn't trace the noise to any one creature. _Shake it off_, he told himself. Mozenrath and Mirage could be watching him at this very second, and he would not give them the satisfaction of knowing he was afraid. He took out the ball of twine he had brought with him. He would need something to tie it to if he was going to carry it through the whole maze, but nothing was there. Then he remembered that Genie had given him his lamp.

The minute he held it, memories he wished he could forget flooded through his brain. If he thought of all the people he'd left behind, the people he felt he had abandoned, he would never get through this. He took his thoughts of them and locked them away, knowing they would do him no good now. He quickly tied the end of the ball of twine to the lamp, and set it down at the entrance. He did not look back as he walked away, the ball of twine clutched firmly in his hands.

He marched forward, knowing he may very well be marching to his own death. He had hoped to cover a decent amount of ground by nightfall, but he had underestimated the complexity of the labyrinth. He took wrong turn after wrong turn, all the while growing more frustrated. The weight of it pushed on him harder and harder each time he walked into a dead end.

Hours passed, and Aladdin saw that he had not made it half as far as he had anticipated he would. The growling, that low menacing rumble, had grown louder, though. That and the soft growl of his own stomach were the only noises he heard. But he would not submit to his hunger, not yet. The food must be stretched out as long as possible if he hoped to survive.

By sundown, he was exhausted, and all he had done was wander aimlessly for a day. The day had been hot, one of the hottest of the year, and it was only made worse by the metal walls of the labyrinth. They absorbed and amplified it, choking the air and making it hard to breathe. Aladdin had leaned his hand against one of those walls once in an attempt to rest, and immediately regretted it. It burned like fire, and he quickly yanked his scorched hand away, surprised by the agony of seared flesh, as well as the way the pain never left completely, only lessening to a dull ache.

After an agonizing wait, the sun finally set completely, and darkness shadowed everything. The only light came from the moon and stars above. Only then did the temperature cool, dropping rapidly to a chill that was unsettling. Without a blanket or a thick tunic, it was just cold enough to be uncomfortable, and Aladdin had thought to bring neither. Drowsiness at last overtook him, and he settled, cold and hungry, into a corner of one of the countless dead ends he had found. He ate a small melon he had brought, breaking it in half over his knee. The juice hydrated him, and he savored every bite, knowing it was all he would eat for at least another day or two. It would not fill him up like the rich meals at the palace, but it would keep him and alive, and keep him strong.

Only after he had eaten, albeit sparsely, did he decide to sleep. He would rest for a few hours, but not the entire night. Though it was colder, he realized it would be easier to travel by night than by day. If he slept through the heat, and traveled while it was cool, he would be stronger, and be able to travel far longer, which, it appeared, he would need - every passageway led him deeper and deeper without really taking him anywhere. The dizziness of it all was more than enough to make him drift to sleep, despite the noises that were even more fearsome in the night than they had been in the day. And for a moment, at least, he was free.

* * *

Mirage kept a portal view of the labyrinth and its new inhabitant constantly before her. The official reason she had been sent home was to act as a guard - to keep an eye on things, to help things along in any way she could. Personally, she had no doubt Mozenrath had other motives for sending her away, but for now, she would have to keep that to herself. When they had last parted after placing Aladdin in the labyrinth and creating a force field to protect it, he had made no implication that she would be seeing him again anytime soon. So her surprise when he and his irritating familiar appeared in Morbia was genuine.

She had not seen him at first. Her focus was on Aladdin as she waited anxiously for the tell-tale relaxed sigh and slumped shoulders that would tell her he had finally fallen asleep. Then she would be able to enter his mind - then she would be able to exploit his fears. Completely focused, she had not noticed Mozenrath's silent entrance.

"And how is our new prisoner?" the smooth voice drawled from behind her. Mirage turned in shock to find him sitting in the throne she had just left, one leg slumped over the right arm of the small golden seat, his head resting on the left, and his familiar Xerxes sneering at his side. She tried to hide her annoyance His impertinence could be infuriating.

"As well as can be expected." She let the portal behind her close briefly. He had broken her concentration, and so torturing him would, sadly, have to wait. "Where are his friends?"

"Probably crying their eyes out at the palace." He stared at the star filled sky above, betraying no emotion in his voice. "You should have seen the Princess...quite pathetic."

"Why have you not killed her yet?" Mirage slid her hip to one side and crossed her arms, attempting to lock eyes with Mozenrath, thinking it would make him less inclined to lie.

For his part, Mozenrath continued to stare at the sky, never giving Mirage a second glance. "She may be of use to us," he replied. Not a good enough answer. To Mirage, Jasmine was the final obstacle standing between her and the throne, and therefore hardly of any use to her. What was he planning? It did not take long to find an answer.

"Princess marry Mozenrath!" cried Xerxes, happily floating around Mozenrath's head. Without hesitation, he grabbed the eel by the throat in a death grip that left his eyes bulging and his lungs gasping for air.

"Quiet Xerxes," he muttered just loud enough for him to hear. He released him before the creature had a chance to suffocate, and glared at him as he flew across the broken, floating space on which they all drifted to get away from his master.

"You're planning on _marrying_ her?" Mirage's fists clenched in anger.

"It crossed my mind." He continued to avoid eye contact, and began to amuse himself by swirling a few small rocks that had been laying on the ground in mid-air using his gauntlet. They made a tiny orbit in front of his face as one gloved finger continued swirling in a circular motion. "Xerxes just overheard me considering it."

"Well un-consider it," she snarled. "We have a deal."

He sat up, and at last their eyes met. "Yes...for now," he replied ominously. He stood up and walked towards her, staring at the space behind her head. He created his own portal to show the labyrinth. Aladdin lay huddled in a corner, sound asleep, the ball of twine he had brought clutched protectively in his hand.

"Adorable," he said sarcastically as Mirage turned around to look. "He looks much too happy there - it's nauseating me."

"Gross!" Xerxes chimed in, thinking it was safe to be around his master again. He flew back to his side and stuck his ugly pink tongue out at the image of Aladdin in front of them.

"Would you like me to help?" Mirage purred in reply, her fingers glowing green as her own power built within her. They were beginning to remember why the idea of working together had been so appealing.

"By all means," Mozenrath replied, a seductive smirk on his lips as he motioned for her to continue. Perhaps he would keep his word to her - that would certainly be a first. Promises meant nothing to him. But from the looks of it, she would make a decent queen. And Jasmine would never marry him, considering the circumstances. Better to see how things played out, and whether Fate would play a hand in helping him decide which of his three available options were best: ruling with Mirage, ruling with Jasmine, or ruling by himself.

* * *

For Aladdin, sleep should have been an escape, a break from the stress of his waking life. But Mirage saw to it that even in his dreams he would find no peace. She plagued him with nightmare after nightmare. In most of them, he would return home from the labyrinth, having found his way through and surviving its dangers, only to find that everyone - Jasmine, Iago, Abu, Carpet, Genie - were all dead, literally or figuratively. Jasmine was a mangled, bloody mess on the ground, Abu and Iago's bodies torn up and disemboweled, while Carpet was ripped to shreds and unmoving, and Genie had disappeared completely. He was totally alone; everyone he had fought to protect had died, anyway. It was all for nothing.

He endured it for a few hours, until finally the nightmares became so gruesome his body jolted him awake in a cold sweat. The first horrifying, waking moments passed, where he believed that what he had dreamed had actually happened. Then reality returned to him, and in some ways, it was even worse than the terror from which he had just escaped.

Unable to bear sitting in a cold corner any longer, he stood up, surprised at how stiff and achy his body was as he did so. Palace life had spoiled him - as a boy, he could have slept in similar conditions without giving it a second thought, without feeling any pain at all. But today there was pain, today there were tense muscles that yearned to move yet hurt when asked to. He staggered at first as he walked, but soon presumed his normal stride as his legs were finally given a chance to stretch.

But then, suddenly, Aladdin was stopped in his tracks, before he had a chance to walk ten steps. A sweet scent had drifted to him from down one of the many corridors - a mixture of wildflowers, rosewater, and the heady scent of desire. He recognized it instantly, for it could only belong to one person.

"...Jasmine?" he whispered to the darkness. There was no reply, only the slight echo of his voice against the walls, repeating his love's name back to him.

Then a flash, something glistening at the end of the next hall. Was it the gold embroidery of her dress? Was the shadow that slipped by the dark wave of her hair? He could have sworn he saw her, for the briefest moment, like a ghost gliding through an old house. He ran to her, jubilant at the thought of it. She had come to save him - that was so like her. She would not be the shy retiring queen, sitting in the palace pining for her lost love. She would take action, and so she had.

It seemed to take forever to reach the end of that passageway. The closer he came to it, the farther away it seemed to move, and consequently, the farther away _she_ would be from him. When he finally got there, he looked to the left, then to the right...but no one was there. No one had ever been there. It didn't take long to figure out that it was Mirage that had caused his delusions - it certainly explained her strange name. Apparently, she had the ability to create images, to make people see things that weren't there. How would he know when he was truly in danger? How would he know what was real and what was not? He leaned against the wall closest to him for support - it had cooled now that the sun had been down for several hours.

Resolved to keep going, he was about to keep walking when a new shadowy figure appeared from around the corner. But this one seemed very real, and it did not disappear no matter how many times he looked away. It was too large, too fearsome to be avoided, and its yellow eyes went immediately to Aladdin as it stalked slowly toward its prey...

* * *

A/N: And so ends another chapter. :) I don't know why, but I think I enjoyed writing this one more than any of the previoius chapters. It was a lot of fun, and I hope that shines through (even with all the angst) and makes the story better. Reviews make me smile. Please leave one and let me know what you thought.


	9. Beautiful Nightmare

A/N: Hi, everyone! I tried to update quickly this time, but if you're waiting to see the result of the cliffhanger in the last chapter, I'm afraid you're going to have to wait a little bit longer. :) This chapter adds a little more angst and drama to the mix (as if we didn't have enough already). Reviews make me smile. Happy reading.

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**Chapter 9: Beautiful Nightmare**

With Aladdin gone, things at the palace quickly fell apart. Jasmine was determined not to let news of the new sultan's absence go any further than the palace walls. If it did, the consequences were too terrible to think about. The people would revolt, half sad at the loss of the ruler they so loved and half angry that their city was now so vulnerable. And the nobility would never accept her as queen without a husband. She could easily be overthrown, or forced to remarry for security. No, it was much better to lay low, to stall for time until he came back.

When she returned to the palace, she was a wreck. Sand and sweat mixed on her skin, leaving her a sticky, uncomfortable mess as she, Genie and Carpet walked back into the throne room dejectedly. They came in through a back corridor, to avoid spectators. Abu and Iago had been playing cards together, a game Genie had taught them. They seemed to have been arguing over who had won or who had cheated. The squawking from Iago and the screeching from Abu immediately stopped when Jasmine came into view.

The look on her face was all her friends needed to see to know that Aladdin had not come back with her, yet they still stared at her expectantly, waiting for her to say something. The lessons tutors had taught her in childhood suddenly flashed through her mind; _Stand up straight, shoulders back, chin up; Show no fear; Remember that you are a princess; Remember that you will be queen._

She tried, but she simply could not feign calmness when Aladdin was gone, when he could be dying at this very moment and she could do nothing to stop it. And she couldn't stand in front of their dearest friends and pretend that she thought everything would be okay, that he would come back tomorrow and everything would be back to normal. Because they would know that it was a lie, and she would know that she was not fooling anyone. If she could have, she would've run past them all without saying a word, but a queen could not run forever. She forced herself to speak, detaching herself from the words so their sting would not affect her.

"Aladdin won't be be coming back anytime soon," she began. Her voice wavered, but she forced it to steady itself. "Tell no one else he's gone until I say it's safe." She started heading toward her room. "If anyone asks for me, tell them I have headache; I'll be in bed for a few days."

True to her word, Jasmine rarely strayed from her bed in the weeks to follow. The first few days were the hardest; most of it was spent crying and sleeping in a never ending cycle, with few interruptions in between. But it didn't take long to realize that no amount of crying was going to bring Aladdin back, or make their kingdom safe again. The next couple of weeks were spent plotting her next move - what she would say, how she would act, how she would be able to get away with ruling alone until Aladdin returned.

She was almost ready to come out of her self-imposed exile and get to work when she really did get sick, this time without pretending. It started out as slight nausea, and soon developed into vomiting, which came without fail each and every morning. She knew what it could mean, but refused to believe it, shoving it to the back of her mind, even as her symptoms grew worse and her monthly courses refused to come.

Through all of this, no one had seen or heard from Mozenrath and Mirage, and as Jasmine's symptoms became harder and harder to ignore, she hoped neither one would show up and discover her secret. But once she began feeling strange, it was only a matter of time before Mozenrath showed up on her doorstep.

As usual, he appeared suddenly and silently, as if he enjoyed scaring her half to death. She was still in bed, and had just finished her second vomiting session of the day. She laid there for a moment with her head hanging over the bed, unable to move, when she heard his voice.

"Feeling a bit under the weather?"

Normally she would've jumped, or felt her heart skip a beat in fear. But she was too tired, and too used to Mozenrath's games now to really care. The fear only came when she realized the danger of him knowing what was going on - of _anyone_ knowing what was going on. She forced herself to sit up and turn around so that she was kneeling on the mattress. Her body had spasmed greatly the last time she threw up, and her whole upper body now ached. She tried not to let her discomfort show, but the red, tearing eyes and pale face drained of color said it all.

"What do you want, Mozenrath?" How tired she was of asking that question.

"Just a friendly social call," he said a little too happily. He walked around the foot of her bed slowly, looking around at the room as he went. He seemed to be sizing up the place in a way that only someone who was sure he would someday live there woud do. Xerxes flew in circles around her, making her dizzy. She closed her eyes, not wanting to throw up for a third time that day.

"Princess sick!" said Xerxes as he flew back to Mozenrath.

"Yes Xerxes," he replied as he stroked the eel's back. "The question is why?"

"None of your damn business," Jasmine growled, her eyes defiant.

"Oh, I think it is." Without warning, he swept behind her and slid his hand over her stomach. She tried to push his arm off, but he was too strong, and his arm barely moved.

His lips moved to her ear, as they had before, and he spoke in a whisper only she could hear. "I think you're with child."

Her eyes widened in horror, and she was thankful he couldn't see her face. She quickly tried to compose herself, and when she felt his arm loosen a little, she pushed herself away from him and got off the bed.

"That's ridiculous," she replied as she attempted to make herself look more presentable. She grabbed a robe to cover herself, though considering its sheerness, it didn't help much.

"Not really - though many thought it unlikely after that miscarriage you had last year."

Again her heart raced. How had he known about that? They had told practically no one. The pregnancy was so short...she had lost the baby without even knowing she had been carrying it. Aladdin had been kind and comforting - they were still so young, and he was in no rush to have children. They never spoke of the incident again after that, and had made no announcement about it.

"Let me guess...you have your sources," she said with a bitter edge to her voice.

"Don't we all?" He was smiling now - _smiling. _Jasmine could have strangled him. Her legs were shaking now, and she feared she would faint. She sat at her vanity nearby - she didn't trust Mozenrath nearly enough to sit on the bed again. She stared into the mirror, and saw for the first time how awful she looked. She forced herself to look away and stare at the floor.

"Well be that as it may, I'm certainly not pregnant now," she said, though she no longer sounded very convincing.

"Princess, there is no point in lying." Suddenly he was behind her again, his hands gripping her upper arms. "I can sense the baby within you."

She glared at his reflection in the mirror. "Just how much power did you get in the past two years?" There was so much he was capable of now that had not been possible when they had fought in the past.

He put his head on her shoulder, so that their faces were right next to each other. "Let's just say I'm not your average sorcerer anymore." She turned her face away, disgusted by him.

"So what happens now?" she asked as she turned her whole body away from him and faced the small balcony on the other side of the room, which took more time and effort than she was used to.

"That depends entirely on you," he replied. "If you follow my orders, no one will be hurt." She made no reply, which he took as her way of telling him to continue. "My terms are easy - give me Agrabah in exchange for the life of your child."

Her body tensed in terror at the very thought of it. She stood up and moved closer to the balcony, hoping for fresh air, but finding none in the summer heat. "You wouldn't dare...that would be low even for you," she snarled.

"I will if it gets me what I want." He stood up and walked in front of her. His dark silhouette blocked the sunlight leaking into the room. "And what I want is Agrabah, and your genie..."

_"And me,"_ she thought to herself. Somehow she knew that this would not be the end, that there would be more sacrifices to make.

"I thought Mirage would want to take my place," she said, hoping the idea would appeal to him.

"She knows this arrangement was better," he replied, as if he had already considered the idea and rejected it.

"What makes you so sure Aladdin's not coming back?"

The smile returned, one that told her he knew something that she did not. "After what he's been through, his chances are pretty slim," he said.

What was that supposed to mean? She wasn't sure she wanted to know. She remembered Mozenrath mentioning monsters...had he already faced one of them? Was he dying as they spoke?

"Can I have a minute to think?" She couldn't even look him the eye now - the fight had suddenly gone out of her, and Mozenrath seemed to notice.

"Of course," he replied politely. He summoned Xerxes to his side and walked to her bedroom door. Just before leaving, he turned to look at her once more, while she still faced away from him.

"I was right about you after all, Princess," he said. "Pitiful is very cute on you." He laughed quietly, with Xerxes hissing a snake-like laugh in reply, and the two left the room and shut the door.

If Jasmine had felt dizzy before, it was nothing compared to way she felt now; it was as if the whole room was spinning. She staggered back to the bed, unable to stand anymore. She had barely recovered from the shock of Aladdin being taken from her so suddenly. Now she was carrying his child, and she wasn't even sure if he was still alive. Worse, Mozenrath was threatening her life, and the tiny life inside her. She had to figure out what to do...and fast.

* * *

A/N: That's all for now. I'm going on vacation at the end of this week, so I don't know if I'll be able to squeeze in another update before then, but I'll certainly try. :) Don't forget to review!


	10. Blood in the Sand

A/N: Hi, everyone! I know you're sick of hearing it, but I'm so sorry it's taken me so long to update. I started college in September, and the stress of that and life in general have left me with no free time to do what I love doing most. Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU to all the people who have reviewed and subscribed to the story while I've been gone. You kept it fresh in my mind and reminded me that there are people out there who care what happens and want me to finish this. And I want to finish it too. So, without further ado, here is Chapter 10! Enjoy, and as always, don't forget to review!

Chapter 10: Blood in the Sand

It was worse than any monster Aladdin had ever faced. It was enormous, its long curved spine nearly reaching the tops of the labyrinth's walls. It resembled a jackal, but it was at least ten times the size of the emaciated dogs that roamed the desert. And there was another difference – as it drew closer, Aladdin saw that it was made entirely of black sand. Obviously it was some sort of hybrid, created by the collective powers of Mozenrath and Mirage.

He drew his sword out of instinct, realizing too late that it wouldn't do much good. While the body of the jackal was made of black sand, his teeth and claws were as sharp as those of a real jackal. It shifted towards him slowly, its weight pressing heavily on the ground with each step. Drool dripped from its open, panting mouth. Whatever this creature ate, it acted as if it hadn't had a meal in days, and Aladdin was exactly what it had been searching for.

Aladdin began to move away, each step backward matching the jackal's step forward. His horror came not from the creature's size, nor even its sharp teeth and claws. It was the growling, that slow, penetrating rumble so loud against the silence of the maze. In the peaceful year or so after he and Jasmine were married, he had almost forgotten what it was like to feel this kind of fear. But the memory of it was returning with sickening speed.

The jackal's first move was so swift Aladdin didn't see it coming. It lunged forward and pounced, one large paw hitting him squarely in the chest and pushing him to the floor. His vision was blinded by a brief white flash as flesh and bone smashed against stone. The back of his head throbbed, but thankfully he did not lose consciousness. The jackal's face quickly swirled back into focus, and this time it was much closer to Aladdin than it had been before. It leaned its head forward and stared down at him, its yellow eyes gleaming with hunger.

As his awareness returned, Aladdin attempted to squirm out from under the creature's paw, but despite being made out of sand, it was much too thick and heavy to push off. The jackal grew angry as his dinner attempted to escape him, and pressed its paw harder into Aladdin's chest, cutting off his airway. His eyes widened as his body attempted to adjust to this new shock, and his squirming became more erratic. Every few seconds, he managed to push one gulp of air into his lungs, but it was not enough, not nearly enough. He felt himself growing weaker, and moved his eyes away from the monster that was suffocating him and up toward the night sky. He knew then that he would die, because the gulps of air were coming slower and slower and the last bit of fight within him was leaving.

The sky looked beautiful, covered in stars with the moon shining. And for no reason at all, his mind went back to the night he and Jasmine had flown through that same sky, past those same stars. He had loved her with a ferocity he had scarcely believed was possible, and only when they kissed for the first time on her balcony did he dare to think that she might feel the same way. Where was she now? Was she thinking of him too? Now he would never know. Unless…

It was in Aladdin's last few moments of lucidity that he remembered that his sword was still gripped tightly in his hand. Somehow he had managed to hold onto it when he was pushed down. He didn't know what good it would do him now, but he wasn't about to let himself die when there was still a chance he could get out of this alive. And he had promised Jasmine. That was the one thing he had forgotten in those last moments of despair; it was the one thing that had brought her anywhere close to accepting his decision. He couldn't give up now without at least attempting to keep that last promise, the one they held onto when they said goodbye.

With one swift swing that took the last of his energy, he drove the sword into the Jackal's ankle, and to his surprise, it worked. The creature shrieked in pain and dragged its aching paw off his torso. His body did the work from there, absorbing air into his lungs as fast as it could. He coughed at the effort – the desert air was so dry, and he was so thirsty. He pulled himself onto his feet, which took more effort than usual. The sword seemed to weigh so much more now than it had before as he lifted it into the air to keep the jackal away. He had angered it, and now it was stronger than ever. Apparently, it healed quickly with no flesh or bone to hold it together.

It lunged for him again, but this time he dodged it and missed by inches. His luck didn't last very long – the creature was clever and knew how to bring him down. A lightning fast paw raced through the air and its claws slashed Aladdin's rib cage. He fell to the ground again, this time face forward. One arm wrapped around his wounds tightly; he hadn't felt them at the first strike, but now they began to burn – and bleed.

His heart was pounding, which only seemed to make him bleed faster. He tried to calm his breathing as he got back up, one arm out against the nearest wall to support him, the other clutched tightly around the gashes across his midsection. He and the jackal circled one another for a few moments, until for once Aladdin was the first to strike. The sword struck the creature's jaw this time, and again it seemed to feel pain. But within moments, the wound was healed, and his yellow eyes glared in Aladdin's direction again.

He was losing hope now, starting to feel stupid for not letting this thing kill him before. The loss of air had not been nearly as painful as the scratches were. As he kept moving, backing further and further into the maze to keep a safe distance away, he tried to think. Mozenrath and Mirage were both evil, but for this challenge, they had added a hint of fairness – they _had_ said these creatures were beatable. Or at least they had implied it. So though it seemed impossible, there was a way to defeat this thing, if only he could figure out how. There was only one thing he hadn't tried, one place he could wound it where perhaps it would not heal. For all its magical properties, this thing was still at least part animal, and an animal had to have a heart.

They continued to circle one another for what seemed like an eternity, each occasionally attempting to strike the other without actually landing any blows. Aladdin tried to steady his breathing and calm his nerves. The aching pain had slowed down to a dull ache now that his focus was on something else. He knew his next move would be a huge risk, but he could not play this game forever. It was time to see if his years on the streets had taught him enough to survive this.

He allowed them to pace for a few more moments, then used the element of surprise to swiftly slide under the beast's belly and throw the sword straight into his chest. He ran under the jackal's hind legs to get out of the way in case it didn't work, but it took only a few moments to realize that it had. The beast staggered and stumbled in a twisted dance, panting and growling the entire time, until finally it collapsed on its side, and everything was still.

Aladdin did not move for several minutes, for fear that the moment he did, the beast would wake up and the nightmare would begin again. But then he took one small step forward, then another, and another, until finally he stood near the head of the beast. Its eyes were closed, its mouth opened slightly to reveal its many sharp teeth. There was no breath, no panting, and he knew then that it was dead. He grabbed his sword, which was still protruding from the jackal's chest, and with a rough pull that killed his ribs, he yanked the sword out. The moment it left the body, it disintegrated into a sea of black sand, spreading all over the floor and covering Aladdin's ankles. His victory was complete. He collapsed on his knees, the black sand providing the closest thing to a soft surface he'd had since he arrived, and turned his attention to finding a way to patch up his wounds.

* * *

Mirage stared in disbelief at the portal before her. This couldn't be possible. He was half dead by the time he finally killed her precious creation, and still he survived! She and Mozenrath had both thought that he would never find a way to defeat the jackal. He would be so focused on heroics, on landing blow after blow in his attempts to kill it, that he would be dead before he had a chance to land the one blow that would save him. But they were wrong. Mozenrath was not going to be happy about this. Mirage had assured him that Aladdin was as good as dead, and that was hardly true anymore.

But why worry about him? Mozenrath had been missing for days, never bothering to visit again after his awkward trip to Morbia a few days before. She was sure the Princess was somehow involved, but there was not much she could do now. It wouldn't matter if she found Mozenrath in Agrabah and defeated him, as she so longed to do. If Aladdin survived, all her hard work would come to nothing. No, she would not face Mozenrath just yet. Instead she would focus her time, her anger, and her energy on making sure Aladdin did not live. As long as he did, she had no guarantee that her dreams of being queen would ever come true…

* * *

A/N: It's nearly 2AM, and I'm finally finished! This was a big step out of my comfort zone – before this chapter, practically all of my writing was Romance/Angst related. Hopefully my first attempts at writing action scenes have been successful. I really hope you guys liked this, and please review! I'll be home for awhile on Christmas break, so I don't think you'll have to wait as long for an update this time.


	11. Decisions

**A/N:** Hello, everyone! Again, I'm sorry for the slow updates. This story WILL be finished. I absolutely refuse to leave it uncompleted. We're not even half way through yet, so I hope you stick around and keep reading. As always, reviews are needed and appreciated. :)

**Chapter 11**

A dead stillness permeated Jasmine's bedroom the moment Mozenrath left it. It crept under her skin, beneath the thin layer of sweat building from an already hot summer day, and into the core of her being, where her unborn child slept in her belly. She and Aladdin had been on many missions, saved many lives, but never before had she had a more important duty to fulfill – the survival of her city, the lives of her friends, and the life of her unborn child all hung on the decisions she would make in the next 24 hours.

High noon was approaching, and the sun's light blazed through the opening of the large balcony in her room, warming Jasmine's back as she sat facing away from it on the edge of her bed. A long dark shadow of her slender frame stretched across the marble floor before her, a black reflection with no face. If it had been an ordinary morning, before her father died and they had plunged headfirst into disaster, she and Aladdin would still have been lounging lazily in bed at this time. Back then, they didn't have to worry about politics or what it meant to rule. They could make love all morning and talk about places they wanted to go, things they wanted to see. The possibilities were endless, the world vast and largely unexplored. Yet in an instant her reach had been reduced from limitless to the space of her own home, which in reality was hardly hers to claim anymore, though she would never have admitted it to anyone but herself.

The worst part was that there were so many unanswered questions. What on earth made Mozenrath and Mirage team up in the first place? How had Mozenrath become so powerful in the last few years? In the past, the concept of surrendering Agrabah to him would have been laughable to Jasmine. But now, in the short span of time in which she had gone from princess bride to queen, he had grown powerful enough to actually beat her. For now at least, she would have to surrender herself and her kingdom if she and her unborn child had any hope of surviving. There was little chance that Aladdin was still alive, and even if he was, she didn't have the resources to bide her time until he returned. The destruction of everything she knew and loved was literally right outside her door, and there was nothing she could do about it.

So she would submit, at least outwardly. She would appear to give up, do whatever Mozenrath asked that was within reason. She would be the quiet, submissive woman her culture had been trying to turn her into for years. And she would wait. Watch, listen, and wait. Hope that a way out revealed itself to her. There was nothing else to be done.

Jasmine had never given up on anything in her life. If she was going to be forced to give in now, in this the greatest crisis of her life, she would go down with dignity. She would go down as a queen should. Calmer now and resolute in her decision, she stood up, noticing immediately that her light silk robes felt strangely heavy on her tiny frame. She removed her thin blue overcoat, peeling it off her arms in the places where sweat had made the fabric cling to her. She then removed the clothes she had worn to bed the night before – a thin midriff baring top and harem pants that sparkled in a shimmery blue color in the sunlight.

Naked, she made her way to the large full length mirror near her bed. She looked exhausted – dark circles aged her youthful eyes and made them appear to sink into her skull. They were red from crying and lack of sleep. Her hair hung stringy and lifeless around her, tangled from tossing and turning. She was too depressed to care much for her own vanity, but she felt a sudden twinge of embarrassment at the thought that Mozenrath had seen her like this. She vowed silently that she would never let him see her in this vulnerable state again.

Normally by this time, maidservants would be crowding the large bedroom helping Jasmine get dressed. It was unnecessary, but so commonplace there seemed no point in questioning it. Today, the palace was completely silent. She could hear no gossiping servants outside, no brooms sweeping the marble floors. They were all hiding somewhere, whispering in corners trying to understand what had happened. And since the sultan had disappeared, no one had dared to bother his wife. And she preferred it that way. There were too many questions to answer, too many things that still needed to be done, and she did not have the time or the will to appease the fears of some shaking servant when she was terrified herself.

So, for the first time in several months, she walked over to her closet, far off on the other side of the room, and began to dress herself. By now, she had had enough of Mozenrath's shameless ogling, so she chose a pink satin dress that covered her up without making her look matronly. As she smoothed out the creases, her hand grazed gently over her stomach. She absently wondered how long it would take before she started to show – having never carried a child to term, the midwives had never had a chance to explain to her the details of what carrying a child entailed. Soon everyone would know of her condition…but she could not think of it now. She had tried for days, but she could not bring herself to be either happy or sad about her pregnancy. It was an inconvenience, a shock, a bargaining tool. And in thinking of all this she could not get back to the blissful, happy feeling of being a first time mother pregnant by a man that she loved. The feeling had been drowned out by the horrific circumstances in which the conception and discovery of the pregnancy had occurred.

When she finished dressing, she headed back into the center of her bedroom, the birdcage-like space where she kept hairpieces and jewelry. She wore her usual gold earrings, and a matching gold necklace with turquoise stones. She gave her lips a hint of red pigment to give her face color, but avoided the kohl that she almost always used on her eyes for fear it would make her look more tired. Lastly, she went through the laborious process of brushing and untangling her long black hair. When she finished, she pulled it back into a sophisticated ponytail, and placed a small gold tiara on her head.

In this moment, Jasmine was able to detach completely from herself. She was no longer a wife, a lover, or a friend. She was simply the sultana, the mother of the heir to the throne. This role was all that would matter in this moment and in the days to follow. It was all she had left, and she would do anything and everything within her power to protect it.

Her gold slippers took graceful, noiseless strides as she glided across the room to the door. As promised, Mozenrath was waiting on the other side, with his familiar Xerxes floating nearby. With a gentle nod, he motioned for the eel to fly further down the hall and out of earshot, so their conversation would not be overheard.

"Your Majesty," he said with another gentle nod of the head and the slightest hint of sarcasm.

"My Lord," she replied coolly. The words tasted of bile as they slid from her throat.

"Have you made your decision?"

"_As if I have a choice," _Jasmine thought to herself. "I have," she said. "I am honored to welcome the Lord of the Black Sands to my home." She forced herself not to break the eye contact she had maintained with him, despite not wanting to see the victorious smirk that crossed his lips at her words.

"Excellent!" he exclaimed, raising his arms as he moved closer to her. Jasmine fought to resist the urge to back away in disgust. His hands went to her shoulders and she shuddered at the coldness of his fingers on her warm skin. "Wise decision."

"Don't patronize me," she snarled in return, shaking her shoulders out of his light embrace. Powerless as she was, there were still some things she would not tolerate.

"I meant it as a compliment!" Mozenrath replied with a shrug, his voice still calm and jovial. "Are you always this defensive? It's a wonder the streetrat stayed with you this long."

At the mention of her husband, she felt her self-control beginning to slip. "If there's nothing more, I think I'll retire. I'm very tired and would like to rest."

She turned on her heel to leave, but before she could move, his hand was back on her shoulder, stopping her. "Not so fast princess. We haven't had breakfast, yet."

Jasmine rolled her eyes, confident that she would not be seen with her back to him. "You can't be serious…"

"On the contrary! We are, after all, co-rulers now. You'll have to show me around, make me feel more at home."

He was enjoying this too much. And Jasmine was too tired to have the patience for his jokes. "This is not your home and it never will be!" she snapped, running to her room and slamming the door in his face before he had a chance to reply. As she leaned against it, panting and shaking from the effort taken in maintaining her composure, she heard him snicker and mumble something she couldn't quite make out before walking down the hall.

So it was done. She would have to live with this man, eat with him, talk with him, and maybe…she dared not think of it. Here in the silence and relative privacy of her room, with Mozenrath gone and nothing but the sound of her breathing to comfort her, the tears returned as her head repeated the same words over and over again.

"_What have I done?"_


	12. Memories

Chapter 12

The blood came in spurts at first, gushing out a frightening speed. But now, after hours of consistently applying pressure, it had been reduced to a slow drip. Aladdin could tell immediately that he had lost a lot of blood – the floor was covered in it, and some of it had mixed with the black sand still lying on the floor and created a strange clot-like mush. He had not known he could bleed that much and still live, but he was grateful.

He rested for a few days, fearing that straining himself by trying to navigate the maze, and possibly having to fight something or someone else, would only make his wounds worse. But he had run out of food long ago, and was starving. The lack of nutrition wasn't helping him heal any faster. The wounds never seemed to heal correctly, and he was slowly getting weaker and weaker. For the second time since entering the maze, he wondered if he was dying…

* * *

Mirage was thrilled to discover that although her precious creation had not killed Aladdin immediately, the wounds he sustained from the fight were still slowly doing their work. He looked pale, sickly. His injuries would likely become infected. His chances of surviving were becoming less and less. Even if he found the strength to keep moving and face the next challenge, it would almost certainly finish him.

She could already see herself parading through the streets of Agrabah as queen, watching the crowds lining the streets cower in fear. Since her strange meeting with Mozenrath, she had taken to picturing Jasmine being dragged behind in chains, or paraded in rags inside a golden cage. Part of her had always envied Jasmine's beauty and power – to gain what little she had, Mirage had been forced to sacrifice her female beauty and become something mutant, something abnormal. Her countenance and manners were still sensual and alluring, but no man would ever want a creature that was neither animal nor human, and evil beyond imagining.

No one, that is, except the one man who had known her and loved her before she sacrificed everything. Her one-time lover turned nemesis, Fasir, always seemed to be waiting in the wings. But she had been so busy plotting Aladdin's downfall that she had not thought of his uncanny ability to discover and interfere in all of her well laid plans. For a moment, she had quite forgotten about him, until he appeared, uninvited, while she stared at Aladdin's wounded body through her portal.

"You have gone too far this time, Mirage." The withered but firm voice sent shivers down her spine. Between Fasir and Mozenrath, she had dealt with far too many interruptions to her peaceful plotting.

"Who are you to tell me that?" she snapped. "Your magic is useless now! Aladdin is nearly dead."

"Nearly, but not quite," Fasir replied, the hint of a smile appearing on his lips. "He fights for something you no longer remember - love."

Mirage chucked. "Oh, not this silly debate again. I've told you before, love is for the weak. His love for that silly girl weeping in the palace will not save him this time.

"That is not the love I meant," he replied. "It is true he fights for the queen, but he also fights for something even deeper - his love for Agrabah."

At this Mirage could merely glare and hiss quietly as he continued.

"The city bore and bred him, he rose to great heights there. He will fight to the death to keep it from you."

"You're an old fool! Aladdin will fight and he will die because he cannot win! His love for Agrabah only serves to make him weaker, and if you DARE try to help him -"

She whipped around to face him, but he was already gone. She knew he had something up his sleeve, though what exactly she could not guess. Even she had to admit that his powers far outmatched her own. If he chose to intervene, she would have no power to stop him. From this point on, she realized she might have to fight a war on two fronts - the first being her goal to kill Mozenrath and gain sole possession of the throne, and the second being her new goal to counteract any attempts by Fasir to help Aladdin.

As she gazed at the battered, broken man before her, she could not help feel a hint of glee, and pray to the gods that his days were numbered. But a sense of dread was growing within her, a foreboding that none of her evil machinations was quite able to quell.

* * *

It was dark again. So dark that only the light of the moon guided Aladdin's footsteps. A cool breeze drifted through the maze. It brushed past his scraped knees, his bruised ribcage, through his dirty, sweat drenched hair.

He wandered aimlessly, running into dead ends at seemingly every turn. Occasionally it felt as if someone were walking with him, as if there was someone there, but he knew he was completely and utterly alone.

Then, from the darkness came a voice. a voice he had not heard for many years. It whispered like the wind and penetrated his soul, making him instantly stop mid-stride. It called to him in a wailing, helpless voice that sounded close yet far away.

"Aladdin! Aladdin...where are you?" After one endless minute of staring and listening, he let the words his had longed to say slip from his lips.

"...Mother?"

It stopped, and all was still again. Without a second thought he began to run, crashing into dead ends and retracing tried paths trying to find that voice. The voice of his sole companion for the brief amount of his childhood in which she lived. The voice of the woman whom he had watched die of disease and heartache when he was only nine years old. The woman who had nursed him, protected him, loved him. The woman he had forced himself to forget because the memory of her was too painful to bear.

Soon he was sprinting. Then, without knowing it, he was screaming.

"Mother! MOTHER! Where are you?!"

He waited for the voice to come back, waited to hear her tell him she was there and that everything would be alright. He remembered how she held him as a boy, how their troubled lives and desperate poverty were distant memories when he snuggled into her chest in their dingy hovel. One foot in front of the other, one never ending drive to find something, anything, to keep him going in the middle of this nightmare.

It did not matter that she was certainly dead. It did not matter that he had held her hand as she slipped into eternity and felt the life drain out of her. All that mattered was that he had heard her voice for the first time in a decade, and a glimmer of hope had entered his heart.

He called and called with reckless abandon, tears streaming down his cheeks. But there was no answer, and no breath left in his tired body. He collapsed against a nearby wall, his breath heavy and panting. She was not there. She had never been there. Why had he thought so? Silly, he mused. Stupid. The tears fell hard and fast, and soon he was sobbing. For for the first time since she died, he allowed himself to cry for her.


End file.
